Cigar bunch shaping machine and knife therefor



June 1, 1943. L. SWINFORD 2,320,898

CIGAR BUNCH SHAPING MACHINE AND KNIFE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 23, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1, 1943. L.SWINFORD 2,320,898 T CIGAR BUNCH SHAPING MACHINE AND KNIFE THEREFOR Filed Dec. 25, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Zea im'izfard,

WW 3% Wm,

Patented June 1, 1943 CIGAR BUNCH SHAPING MACHINE AND "KNIFE THEREFOR Leo Swinford, Richmond, Va., assignor to Richmend Maury, Richmond, Va., as trustee Application December 23, 1940, Serial No. 371,457

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to a cigar bunch shaping machine and a novel knife therefor.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a machine of the turret type having a plurality of molds or open pockets into which cigar bunches are placed and subsequently compressed or shaped, and to a knife adapted to trim the protruding tobacco projecting through the ends of the mold after shaping.

Existing turret type cigar shaping machines have been equipped with knives which are generally of two diverse types. The first of these consisted of nothing more than a stationary slanting blade, which was positioned in close proximity or even in contact with the end of the molds or pocket-s carrying the tobacco. This type of knife had to be kept in an extremely sharp condition, as otherwise the tobacco would bend and break instead of cutting. A stationary knife of this character, however, needed frequent sharpening and in many instances had to be discarded after a few sharpenings, as any foreign material in the tobacco tended to take large nicks from the sharp edge of the knife.

Additionally, the knife had to be positioned so closely to the edges of the molds in order to obtain a good shearing action that sometimes the edge of the mold struck the knife and damaged the sharp edge thereof.

As a result of these difficulties, a great many I.

of the tobacco making machines of the turret type had been equipped with power driven knives i. e. knives that were rotated by an external power source. A knife of this type had to be very carefully guarded as there was considerable danger of the operator accidentally coming in contact with the relatively sharp, quick rotating edge. Here again a source of difficulty ensued, inasmuch as it was necessary to clean the molds twice during the daytime and twice during night service. While the molds were being cleaned, the machine was still in operation and therefore, in machines equipped with the end type of cutting knives the revolving knife or knives in many cases caught the cleaning cloth used by the operators and frequently wound the cloth around the knife and its operating shaft whereby the hand of the operator came in contact with the knife or with the shaping plunger. Further, a

knife of this character was relatively expensive 1 as compared to the stationary knife and when it went out of order, the resultant repair costs were excessive.

It is one of the objects of the present invention, therefore, to provide a novel knife for a turrct type cigar forming machine which requires no extraneous source of power.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a knife for trimming the excess tobacco projecting from the open ends of the molds in a turret type cigar making machine, which is capable of maintaining its edge for a considerable period .of .time.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a knife for a turret type cigar making machine which is freely rotatable and adapted to .berotated by the projecting tobacco being cut.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a tobacco cutting knife adjustably positioned in the path of projecting tobacco and capable of being rotated thereby while cutting the same.

,A fifth object of the present invention is to provide a tobacco cutting knife capable of being rotated by the tobacco being cut and having a relatively'long hub or bearing so positioned that noncof the parts thereof tend to gather any excess tobacco being cut, or interfere with the movement of a turret cigar forming machine.

A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a circular rotating knife and an adjustable support therefor capable of being easily assembled with a standard type of turret cigar making machine.

A seventh object of the present invention is to provide ,a freely rotatable tobacco cutting knife adapted to be positioned adjacent the ends of the molds of a turret type cigar making machine, said knife being provided with angular members projecting adjacent the sides of the turret and adapted to free the same from excess tobacco and other debris.

Other objects of the present invention and advantages thereof will be obvious from the subsequent description and drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a turret type cigar forming machine and a knife assembled therewith.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine of Fig. 1 partly broken away.

ig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. l is a perspective view of a portion of the turret and the tobacco cutting knives.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the turret showing a modified form of knife.

Fig. 6 is a section of the knife and bearing shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

Fig. 7 is a section of the knife and bearing of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section illustrating a third form of knife, bearing and support therefor.

Referring to Fig. 1, a cigar bunching machine of the turret type is indicated in general by the reference numeral [0, and is shown provided with a rotating turret l l which is rotated by suitable means, well known in the art, on a shaft indicated at l2.

The turret machine is provided with suitable guards l3 and M which are supported as by suitable bolts 5 from a stationary horizontal frame member I 6. The turret II is provided with a number of pockets or molds ll having openings or slots at the ends thereof through which excess tobacco may protrude, the slots or holes being designated by the reference numeral l8.

These molds are carried by the turret H in a circular path as the turret revolves and are fed with tobacco bunches manually, or by suitable mechanism, as is well known in the art. The tobacco bunches are fed to the machine within the zone A and are compacted by a suitable plunger, not shown, thereafter, so that upon the arrival of the molds i? at the knife indicated in general at til, the excess tobacco projects through the slots 18 as shown at 20 in Fig. 4.

The knife i9 is provided with an L shaped bracket or supporting standard 2| which is bolted to the frame member [6 as by a bolt 22 projecting through the slot 23 in one leg of the L shaped bracket. This enables the bracket to be fitted on the machine so that the knife proper is placed adjacent the ends of the molds l1 and in position to be rotated by, and to cut the projecting tobacco 2i). 7

The upright portion of the bracket or standard 2i is provided with a plurality of holes 24 through any of which a bolt 25 is adapted to project. The bolt 25 in turn cooperates with the slotted portion 28 at one end of an arm 21. The arm 21 is in turn provided with an opening 28 at its other end adapted to receive a screw 29 threaded into a shaft or pivot member 30. Freely mounted on the shaft or pivot member 30, as by a hub 3|, is a knife proper having a circular blade 32 provided with a peripheral and sharpened edge 33.

The hub 3| is held on the pivot member 30 as by a bushing it provided with a set screw 35. similarly positioned at the other side of the turret I I, and adjacent the path of the other end of the molds I! is a second knife having a blade 36 and a hub 31 mounted to freely rotate on the pivot member 38. The hub 31 is similarly held on the pivot member 38 by the bushing 39 having a set screw 60, and the pivot member 38 is supported in an entirely similar manner to pivot member 39 by a bracket il having a slot 42 in the base thereof adapted to receive a bolt 43.

It may be noted that the slots 23 and 42 enable the brackets 21 and M to be moved closer or farther away from the path of the respective ends of the molds l1. Preferably, during the operation of the machine, the brackets 2| and 4| are so positioned that the knife blades 32 and 36 are just clear of the ends of the molds. If the knife blades 32 and 36 are moved too close to the ends of the molds, there is some danger that the ends of the molds will come in contact with the knife blades, and the device operates perfectly satisfactorily when asufiicient clearance is provided to prevent this contingency. In other words, the freely rotatable blade of the present invention may be positioned farther away from the ends of the molds than the stationary knife of the prior art.

It is also desirable that the peripheral edge, as for example the edge 33 of the knife extend into the path of the turret sufficiently so that the knife blade will cover the bottom of the slots [8, or even extend a little beyond the bottom of the slots l8 so as to cut off all the projecting to bacco 20.

Aside from these adjustments just previously discussed, it is desirable that the knife be so positioned that the tobacco 20 is cut with a tangential rotating motion. In other words, if the knife blade projects too far into the path of the tobacco 20, projecting from the end of the molds, the blades 32 and 36 will not be rotated by the tobacco and the tobacco instead of being cut cleanly will tend to break or bend. However, it

is desirable that the knife project sufliciently far into the path of tobacco so that it tends to be rotated by the same during the cutting operation, and this rotation will be greater or smaller depending on the resistance or stiffness of the projecting tobacco.

It has been discovered during the operation of the knife that it is not essential that the knife be absolutely razor sharp, inasmuch as the rotating motion cuts the tobacco cleanly even when the knife is comparatively dull. It follows, therefore, that the knife of the present invention does not need to be frequently sharpened,

Surprisingly enough, the relatively fragile tobacco projecting from the slots H3 possesses suflicient body to rotate the knife to perform its cutting function even though the knife is not extremely sharp.

In the modification of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the hub of the knife is shown projecting inwardly i. e. towards the interior of the turret. It is within the scope of the present invention, however, to provide a knife wherein the hub projects outwardly of the turret and this form of knife is shown in Figs. 5 and '7.

As shown in these figures, the hub 54 of the modified knife projects from the beveled side of the blade 45, and is held similarly to the knife previously described by a bushing 46 and a pivot member 47, the pivot member being in turn carried by a supporting arm 48. Because of the projection of the hub adjacent the path of the tobacco which is being out, there is some danger of the hub 44 in this form of the knife gathering the cut tobacco. In order to remove this tobacco, and keep the same in loose condition and also to remove any tobacco clinging to the sides of the turret, the blade 45 is provided with a number of angularly projecting members 43 which could not be provided on the type of blade designated by the reference numeral 32, since the angular members would prevent the blades from turning past the arm 27.

Obviously the blade 45 is incapable of remove ing loose tobacco which may sometimes accumulate in the space between the movable portions and side cover member of the turret in which the The modification of the device shown in Fig. 8, however, combines the features of the two previous modifications. In this modification, the modified pivot member 50 is provided with an integral head 5|, and the knife blade 52 and hub 53 is held between the head 5| and a combined bushing and supporting arm 54; the bushing 54 being provided with a set screw 55 for fixably positioning the pivot member 55.

It will be noted that the blade proper 52 of the knife in this modification is also provided with angularly projecting members 56 which help to remove any loose tobacco tending to cling to the sides of the turret.

Although the knife has been shown supported below the center of the turret, it is obvious that the knife may be supported in any angular position relative to the turret. Thus, the support for the knife may be located above the center of the turret, and the blade of the knife may be positioned adjacent the path of the ends of the molds and projecting downwardly from any suitable support.

As previously stated, the important criteria is that the knife be so adjusted and positioned that it clears the ends of the molds and that the peripheral cutting edge of the knife extends over the ends of the molds in such a fashion as to produce a tangential cutting action which will simultaneously tend to rotate the knife.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cigar making machine including a revolving turret and a plurality of molds carried by said turret, each of said molds having an opening in an end thereof through which excess tobacco protrudes, a knife adapted to be rotated by the excess tobacco protruding through an end of said mold, said knife being positioned adjacent the path of movement of the ends of said molds and mounted for free rotational movement, and means extending from said knife, and adapted to remove loose tobacco projecting from the side of said turret into the path of movement of said last mentioned means.

2. In a cigar making machine including a revolving turret and a plurality of molds carried by said turret, each of said molds having an opening in an end thereof through which excess tobacco protrudes, a knife adapted to be rotated by the excess tobacco protruding through an end of said molds, said knife being positioned adjacent the path of movement of the ends of said molds and mounted for free rotational movement, and angle members extending from the side of said knife, the free end of said members being positioned to remove loose tobacco projecting from the side of said turret and the end of said molds into the path of movement of said members.

i LEO SWINFORD. 

